


The More Things Change

by Aluxra



Category: Death Note (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Fluff, M/M, Not Canon Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-05
Updated: 2017-09-05
Packaged: 2018-12-24 09:54:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12010299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aluxra/pseuds/Aluxra
Summary: The more they stay the same...L wakes Light up in the middle of the night with his bizarre sleep schedule as usual. Light decides to find a way to get him to stop working for five minutes and let him sleep.





	The More Things Change

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Italiano available: [Più le cose cambiano](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12102246) by [MaryFangirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaryFangirl/pseuds/MaryFangirl)



> You know a train wreck remake is a train wreck when you come back to the fandom after a decade just to watch the original and write fanfic again because you just don't want to deal with the train wreck. ((God I wanna read the manga as well but it's stuck somewhere in my parents house along with the two novels I have))
> 
> Anyway! I hope you enjoy this little ficlet. It is unedited and unbeta'd, I will fix that tomorrow. In case it is in anyway unclear, Light is in his early- to mid-twenties, L is in his early thirties by this point in the narrative.
> 
> Enjoy xXx

The persistent clack of laptop keys roused Light from his sleep, his internal clock telling him it was still in the early hours of the morning, long before sunrise. He groaned internally, his eyes still closed even as the pale blue hue of the illuminated laptop screen bled through his eyelids, and the fingertips tapping across its keys continued their relentless journey. He had never been a heavy sleeper, prone to waking up at the slightest change in sound or movement in his bedroom: even the hourly bells from the clock close to his family's home had been enough to wake him up during the night at times, when all other ambient noise dropped away and he could count the individual chimes with clarity. Having an insomniac as a bed partner was a challenge, needless to say, particularly one who was glued to his laptop almost 24/7.

‘Your change in breathing and sudden stillness indicates you are awake, Light,’ L droned monotonously. Light didn’t have to open his eyes to know L hadn’t taken his off the screen in front of him. ‘Your lack of effort to reveal this could be seen as suspicious: perhaps it is an attempt to spy on me, in hopes of revealing some key information to use against me.’

‘My lack of effort to open my eyes could be seen as me wanting to go back to sleep as quickly as possible,’ Light rebuked, keeping his eyes firmly closed. He rolled onto his stomach, folding his arms under the pillow and burying his face in it. ‘There is nothing sinister about it, and since we share a bed anyway, I don’t need to spy on you to know what you’re doing.’

‘And what am I doing?’

‘Keeping me awake,’ Light grumbled, burrowing deeper into the pillow. ‘Scientific studies have proven you need at least eight hours of sleep a day to maintain healthy mental function.’

‘Scientific studies have proven the average person requires eight hours of sleep,’ L corrected, and while his tone didn’t change, Light could hear the hidden challenge in his voice. His eyes flicked open, looking up at L’s profile through the darkness of the room, his pale skin illuminated with the artificial blue-white light of his computer screen. He hadn’t even changed out of his clothes, his old ratty jeans and oversized top hanging off his slim frame as he sat crouched in front of his laptop.

Light sighed under his breath, pushing himself up onto one elbow and rubbing a hand over his irritated eyes, dragging his hand down his face. L didn’t look away from his laptop, his wide, dark eyes darting along the lines of writing on the screen, his thumb stuck between his front teeth as he read. Still, Light could feel L’s attention on him, as heavy as the quilt on top of him, as soft as his laundered pyjama shirt.

They sat in silence for several minutes: L staring at the laptop screen, Light’s gaze flicking between the laptop and L, before he reached forward and flipped the laptop closed in one swift, deft flick of the wrist. The laptop shut with a click, throwing them into darkness. Light’s eyes adjusted, phosphenes dancing in front of his eyes with the sudden change, and he fixated his gaze on the motionless, hunched silhouette beside him. He smiled, a small victory to him, and pushed the laptop further away from L.

‘Light,’ L finally spoke, his emotionless drawl tinged with wry humour as he turned to stare at Light. ‘You are being childish.’

‘You are being inconsiderate.’

‘How am I being inconsiderate?’ L asked. ‘I am not deliberately interrupting your sleep patterns, nor hindering you from going back to sleep should you so choose. You, on the other hand, are interrupting my work on a very important case, slowing the progress of the investigation.’

He cocked his head to the side, his thumb pressed against his lips. In the darkness of the room, his eyes were completely obscured, so dark they blended seamlessly with the shadows as he watched Light slip out from under the covers and slide closer to him. ‘If I didn’t know any better, your behaviour would indicate that you are trying to stop me from discovering something important in the case, something that would condemn you as the perpetrator of these crimes.’

His gaze flicked down as Light rested his hand on L’s knee, the warm pressure of his palm firm and insistent as he pushed them down. ‘You are also inhibiting my deductive reasoning by moving me in such a way.’

‘What if I was a suspect? What then?’ Light teased with a smile. He curled his hands around L’s shoulders, looking down at him through half lidded eyes. ‘What is the percentage that I am involved in these despicable crimes?’

‘I suppose you’ll also take into account,’ he continued, swinging one leg over L’s thighs, straddling his lap, ‘my _particular_ methods of distraction, when determining the percentage?’

L swallowed, the click of his throat audible to Light’s ears. His hands found their way to Light’s hips, holding them in that delicate, precise way he held everything at his fingertips. L’s thumbs rubbed across the hem of his pyjama trousers, his long, lithe fingers digging through the material into his skin.

‘Yes, I think your method of distraction should be accounted,’ he said quietly, tilting his head back to meet Light’s gaze. As Light’s eyes continued to adjust, he could see the faint glint of L’s eyes behind the long, unruly bangs of black hair. Light smiled softly, raising one hand from L’s shoulder to brush his fingertips through the soft strands of hair, tucking them behind L’s ear.

‘So, what’s my percentage?’ he asked, leaning in close to L till their breaths mingled.

‘Zero,’ L murmured, pressing his forehead against Light’s, brushing their noses together. Light mimicked him, humming a laugh.

‘Zero? Absolutely?’ he asked, his fingers still carding through L’s thick black hair. His free hand slid up his shoulder to curl around L’s neck, below the sharp, smooth line of his jaw. Pressing his thumb under L’s chin, he raised it higher, tilting his head back. L allowed him to do this, his hands remained fixed on his hips, motionless save for the small circles his thumbs travelled over the crest of his hipbone.

‘You know the answer to that,’ L replied, his dry, rough lips forming the words against Light’s own.

‘Of course,’ Light replied, chasing L’s lips. His hand shifted from L’s hair to the other side of his neck, mirroring the other one as he slid their lips together, capturing L in a kiss. The pulse in his long, graceful neck jumped, hammering against the delicate, soft skin beneath Light’s palms as he drew in a sharp gasp of breath, stealing the air from Light’s lungs into his own. His fingers tightened their grip on Light’s body, dragging him closer in one fluid, rolling motion of their hips. Their lips glided over each other, the taste of strawberry cheesecake and overly sweet coffee overwhelming Light’s taste buds as he licked his way into L’s mouth, pulling him closer and demanding more until they needed breath.

They separated with a shuddering gasp, breathless and shaking in each other’s arms. Their heartbeats thundered in their chests, felt by the other through the thin material of their clothes. L closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around Light’s waist and lowering his head to press against Light’s chest. Light slid his arms around his shoulders, resting his cheek on the crown of L’s head, rocking him soothingly.

‘Absolute zero percent I am not a criminal,’ Light mused.

‘At least not the one connected to this particular string of art thievery in Western Europe,’ L replied with a smile.

Light laughed. ‘Have you figured it out yet?’

‘Yes, actually,’ L said, a smile in his voice. ‘I was, in fact, just going over my final report to send to the _Préfet de police_ when you so rudely interrupted me. They will have everything they require to track down and arrest the thieves before their next attempted robbery.’

‘So, you _weren’t_ actually in the middle of a case to be interrupted,’ Light said, cocking an eyebrow.

‘Semantics,’ L replied with a shrug.

Light laughed. ‘Well, since that case is closed, what’s the percentage that you’ll give me some more cases to help you with in the morning?’

‘Perhaps close to 38%, considering I have had a 12% increase in alerts from twenty-eight different countries all requesting my help on what they consider to be particularly difficult cases,’ L said. ‘Though, it would depend on whether they interest me or not.’

‘Are there any from Japan?’ Light asked, already knowing the answer, but still asking out of an impulsive habit he had picked up over the last few years.

There was a pause, as he knew there would be, then a sigh.

‘You know I cannot answer that, Light.’

‘Even if you could, what are the chances you would?’

‘None, Light.’

Light huffed a breath, sighing deeply. ‘What’s the percentage that you will ever trust me?’

L stilled beneath him, tense and quiet.

Light smiled, staring at the ceiling, before he closed his eyes with a sigh.

‘Don’t answer that,’ he whispered, pressing a kiss to the crown of L’s head and sliding out of his lap, back to his side of the bed.

‘Light…’ L began, half following him.

‘It’s alright, L,’ Light assured him, shaking his head. ‘Just, come to bed, sleep a while.’

‘You know I rarely need sleep.’

‘Then just lie down with me for a while,’ Light suggested, slipping back under the covers and lying down, clasping his hands over his chest.

L stared down at the man who had once been the most notorious criminal L had ever faced: the one known as “Kira”, the one who had sought to become a God and had been thwarted by him in the end. In the years that had followed Kira’s downfall, they had come to an unexpected arrangement that had developed further than either of them had ever expected or even imagined at the beginning. Both had been so sure of themselves, in their course for justice, that the other would be dead at their hands. Even now, there was still a risk – always a risk – that the one who the world had called “Kira” could still return, and finish what he had promised to accomplish.

Light glanced over at him, watching him intently. L met his gaze through the darkness, his back to the window so the faint light that managed to invade the room highlighted the soft brown of Light’s hair, and the warmth in his dark brown eyes. L stood up from the bed, grabbing his laptop and setting it on the bedside table, before he stripped down to his boxers and dropped his clothes to the floor. Pulling back the quilt, he slid into bed and moved closer to Light, opening his arms in offering. Light paused, before he rolled onto his side and into L’s arms, resting his cheek against his chest without a word. L slipped his arm around Light's shoulders, stroking his hair until he felt Light sink into sleep again.

Then, embracing his former enemy, L followed suit into a gentle slumber.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Not gonna lie, I was like, 30% tempted to throw in an ironic "noirette" description for L as homage to the seriously bad writing of ye olde fandom days, but, obviously, I resisted (temptation was still there though) :P 
> 
> Thanks for reading x


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